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English Technique consists of painting and washing out. It usually
applies to Landscape painting. Distant hills are painted on the
paper and then washed out. This process is repeated as hills and
objects get closer to the front or picture plane. Each washing out
removes a bit more from the earlier layers, and the result is a
stepped illusion of painting atmosphere.
The contemporary
or american technique is to paint directly, establishing the darkest
values and lightest and modifying more and more until the image
is complete. This preserves more of the brilliant white of the untouched
paper and shows direct brushwork.
Discussing the
"English Technique" might be a good place to begin the
discussion of color. the muted colors of most English technique
watercolor paintings, make a painter wish for brighter colors and
more defined edges. A good color wheel* can replace a great deal
of experimentation. You can lay out colors as they would be laid
out on the palette, and produce mixtures of the paint in your collection.
The advantage lies in an actual reference to colors you can mix.
mixing tertiaries is the greatest help. How many different browns
can you create? How many near-blacks?
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